Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

If you or a loved one has been injured by the carelessness of a chiropractor, our skilled Rochester medical malpractice attorneys can help you pursue a case against the at-fault party. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we have a thorough understanding of chiropractic practice. We can help you navigate the legal process and assert your rights throughout the entire course of action.

A chiropractor is a licensed health care professional who diagnoses and treats the misalignment of joints. Specifically, a chiropractor treats disorders of the musculoskeletal system, such as neck and back pain, especially through the manual adjustment or manipulation of the spinal vertebrae to remedy nervous system dysfunction. The goal of a chiropractor in most cases is essentially to reduce pain and improve the functionality of patients.

While chiropractors are not doctors, they are medical professionals that could be liable for malpractice. Depending on the state, chiropractors often perform procedures such as electromyography, acupuncture, and spinal manipulations. For the majority of the time, negligent manipulation is what leads to a patient’s injury. For example, improper adjustments could lead to herniated discs, neck injuries, and nerve damage. In some cases, chiropractors can even cause a stroke. This can happen when the chiropractor manipulates the patient’s neck in a way that ruptures or blocks arteries to the brain. The vertebral artery is particularly at risk, since it wraps around the cervical vertebra entering into the head. This can cause a blood clot that cuts off the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.

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Medical malpractice can lead to serious and long-term harm. In the most serious cases, malpractice can result in death. When a person has been injured by a medical professional’s negligence, that person can potentially recover damages for his or her harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester medical malpractice attorneys can examine the facts of your case and come up with a legal strategy accordingly.

According to a study published in a recent issue of Health Management, Policy and Innovation (HMPI), there was no negative impact on patient safety when approximately 900 University of Miami Health System doctors received sovereign immunity from medical malpractice claims while working at 1,600-bed government-owned Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH), which is protected by sovereign immunity as a government entity. The same 900 doctors who work at JMH are also employed by the University of Miami Hospital, a privately owned 560-bed facility. Sovereign immunity applied to the former but not the latter. The study found that the rate of harmful events decreased by 23 percent over a four-year time frame. The study suggests that even without the fear of malpractice, medical professionals are committed to proving competent care to their patients.

Medical malpractice happens when a health care provider causes an injury or death by not using the level of carefulness that a competent health care provider would use under similar circumstances. Medical malpractice can happen in a variety of ways, including surgical errors, diagnostic errors, prescription errors, and treatment errors. Of course, this list is not exhaustive. To win a malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff is required to prove the following:  i) the doctor owed the patient a duty of care; ii) the doctor violated the duty of care that was owed; and iii) the doctor’s violation was a direct cause of the patient’s harm.

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Each year, over 100,000 people in the United States die due to complications associated with pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Unfortunately, many of these deaths could have been prevented. If you or someone close to you has suffered adverse health consequences due to DVT or pulmonary embolism complications, you need to contact a seasoned Rochester misdiagnosis attorney who can help. We are committed to getting you the compensation you deserve for your harm.

DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in the deep vein of the leg. It is possible for such clots to develop in the lower part of the person’s body as well as below the pelvis. While DVT can sometimes resolve on its own, DVT can be life-threatening if the blood clot dislodges and travels to the lungs – a condition known as a pulmonary embolism (PE). A pulmonary embolism can be deadly because it blocks the artery in the lung, cutting off the blood supply completely. Medical professionals can administer certain tests to show the presence of blood clots that can indicate DVT. Once DVT is detected, the main goal becomes preventing the clot from reaching the lungs and causing a pulmonary embolism.

In New York, medical malpractice occurs when a health care professional, physician, medical institution, or any other health care-associated establishment fails to provide care for a patient in accordance with the generally accepted standards, and the individual is injured or their condition or illness worsens as a result. To establish medical malpractice, you will need to successfully prove the following elements:  i) you were under the care of a physician; ii) while you were receiving medical treatment, the physician failed to act as a physician in that specialty should; and iii) you were injured as a result.

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If you or your loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, you may be able to seek compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester medical malpractice lawyers can review the merits of your case and assist you in determining your course of action. You can rest assured that our firm can guide you through the legal process in a thoughtful and compassionate manner.

A study recently released by WalletHub found that New York is the third-worst state for doctors, coming out just ahead of Rhode Island and New Jersey. The study compared states on 16 metrics, including annual salaries, starting salaries, hospitals per capita, hospital quality competition, and how much was awarded in malpractice per capita. One of the biggest setbacks for doctors working in New York is the high cost of malpractice liability insurance. In fact, New York was found to have the most expensive annual malpractice liability insurance in the United States. Exacerbating the cost of malpractice insurance is the amount that New York doctors are paid. The state came in 29^th place in the study when it comes to wages for doctors. This fact, coupled with the cost of living in New York, affects the big picture for doctors.

In New York, you may bring a medical malpractice lawsuit for an injury you suffered against a licensed health care provider based upon their negligence, misconduct, mistakes, or omissions in the rendering of medical services. Specifically, medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes injuries or death by failing to adhere to the standard of care that a reasonable medical professional in the same specialty would have used in the same or a similar situation. Some examples of medical malpractice cases include but are not limited to:

Needle stick injuries can lead to devastating and long-term harm. If you or a loved one has been injured due to a needle stick injury, you may be eligible for compensation for your injury. After such an injury, it can be hard to know what to do next, but you can rest assured you don’t have to face the situation alone. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our experienced Rochester medical malpractice attorneys understand how to steer these types of claims and can apply our knowledge to your case. Time is of the essence in these cases, so it is important to act quickly.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 600,000 to 800,000 needle stick injuries take place in the health care industry every year. Hypodermic needles, blood collection needles, and intravenous needles often cause these injuries. It is important to note that the wound itself is hardly the problem; instead, it is the possibility of exposure to infection and illness. A needle stick can transmit blood-borne pathogens, leading to life-threatening diseases. Needle stick injuries can take place in hospitals, clinics, labs, and private practices. Victims of needle stick malpractice may suffer from a variety of conditions, including but not limited to:

• Hepatitis B or C
• Tuberculosis
• Typhus
• Herpes
• Malaria
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• Spotted Fever
• Syphilis

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Medical professionals have an obligation to monitor patients in accordance with appropriate standards of care. If you or your loved one has been injured due to a health care provider’s failure to monitor you during treatment or post-op, you may have a claim for medical negligence. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our skilled medical malpractice attorneys can analyze the facts of your case and help you pursue the compensation you deserve for your harm.

When medical professionals fail to properly monitor a patient, the results can be devastating or even fatal. We have handled a wide range of cases related to errors in patient monitoring. These mistakes can happen anywhere from a clinic to a hospital to a nursing home. Patient monitoring errors may include but are not limited to:

• Failure to diagnose and treat post-operative complications;
• Failure to monitor a patient’s vital signs after anesthesia;
• Failure to monitor hospital patients for infections;
• Failure to monitor a child during and after birth;
• Failure to monitor nursing home patients so that bed sores develop;
• Failure to monitor a patient on dialysis;
• Patient discharged from the hospital too early when they should have been monitored further in the facility;
• Failure to monitor how certain high-risk drugs interact with each other in a patient; or
• Failure to follow up with a patient.

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If you or a family member has been a victim of a laboratory error, you need to reach out to a skilled Rochester medical malpractice attorney who can assess the merits of your case. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand that victims of malpractice often feel helpless, but it is important to know that you don’t have to deal with the situation alone. Our team can meticulously analyze the circumstances surrounding your injury and help you pursue the financial support you need to move on with your life.

Virtually every specialty in medicine will send samples to be tested at a laboratory. The results of laboratory tests are vital to make decisions about a patient’s condition and potential course of treatment. In many cases, laboratory tests can significantly affect the outcome of an individual’s life. For example, consider the fact that when a patient has a heart attack or stroke, their blood needs to be tested immediately to figure out how much blood-thinning medication is necessary for the patient to take. Laboratory mistakes can take place in many ways, including but not limited to:

• Ordering the wrong tests;
• Using expired products to screen for cancer or other conditions;
• Mixing up patient samples/swabs or patient information;
• Mislabeling samples;
• Recording the wrong information;
• Wrongly transcribing records;
• Using defective or faulty equipment;
• Failing to communicate test results in a sensible time frame; or
• Failing to order the needed follow up tests.

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